Love ’em or hate ’em, lunchboxes are an unavoidable necessity. Parents have an important role to play when packing a lunchbox. Learning is hungry work! To fuel children for a day at school, pack a nutritious main lunch plus snacks from the five food groups. Pack to suit your child’s appetite.

Try these Thermomix recipes* from The Basic Cookbook.

Grains and cereals

– Pizza dough (try mini pizzas or pizza scrolls)

– Pikelets

– Pancakes

– Bircher muesli

– Bread and rolls (try lunchbox sized rolls)

– Fruit buns

Meat and alternatives

– Hard boiled eggs

– Omelettes (try wraps or rolls)

– Lasagne (try “lasagne cups” baked in a muffin tray)

– Quiche (try mini quiches, easier for little hands)

– Meatballs

– Fish cakes

– Vegetarian sausage rolls

Dairy and alternatives

– Yoghurt

– Custard

– Smoothies

Fruit

– Stewed fruit

– Apple sauce

– Smoothies

– Vitality truffles (bliss balls)

Vegetables

– Lightly steamed raw veggies

– Soups

– Potato cakes

– Salads

– Dips

– Smoothies

* If your school is nut-free, either omit the nuts or substitute a mix of seeds in recipes that contain nuts. Try pine nuts (a seed, not a nut), linseeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or chia seeds.

Written by Erica Noble, Thermie owner and volunteer Family Food Educator. For more ideas and information go to www.familyfoodpatch.org.au or www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/healthykids, or follow Family Food Patch or Healthy Tasmania on Facebook.